Archive for June, 2008

Okay everybody, first off I must apologize for this onslaught of Crackin the F.O.W’s (Flick of the Week), but, when I saw this picture I HAD TO POST IT. Usually you see this type of poster with some positive utterance on it like, CONFIDENCE, PERSEVERANCE, or DEDICATION. This one… Not quite. Instead of motivating you or lifting you up, pun intended, this poster gives it to you in the raw. The kid failed to get over the fence and must wait until the person taking the picture has the decency to relieve his pain riddled rear from wedgie hell. Check out the difference in color between his legs and his face. He is in some serious pain.

The most socially conscious, thought provoking, and with one of his more recent documentaries, effectively daring, director of our times may be going back for a second round in the Gulf Coast. Spike Lee says he may revist, not only New Orleans, but other areas still devestated by Hurricane Katrina. “I’m going to go back…because it’s not over. What the press is not really talking about is the mental state — suicide, self-medication,” he said. “It’s horrible.” “When the Levees Broke” was extremely poignant as it put on display the events that lead up to, what happened during the course of, and the after effects of the massive flood. The pictures of floating corpses, others lying on the street, bloated from the water that had been absorbed by their bodies, the huge X’s on the exterior of homes, that symbolized the date searched, hazardous materials that may be inside and aBODY COUNT, all came together to seriously touch those who viewed it. Hopefully, Mr. Lee will go back for a second time and expose the lack of governmental support, the mental anguish that resulted from the tragedy and bring another effective documentary revealing the real deal of what’s going on now in the affected areas.

“My Producer is Black and my two Co-Hosts are Black.” says Don Imus after another blatantly racist comment rolled off his untamed tongue. Sound familiar? In my experiences, the people who are most racist against blacks, or hold some sort of animosity toward us, must go out of their way to tell us how many of their “friends are black”, how many black people “they hang out with” or how much they “LOOOVE Rap Music”. Imus explained his comments made on Monday morning saying, “I was making a sarcastic point.” For those of you who haven’t heard, Imus was chatting with Warner Wolf, a well known sportscaster, on his nationally syndicated morning radio show, about Dallas Cowboys Cornerback, Adam “Packman” Jones. They spoke about his numerous run-ins with the law, and Imus’s retort included the following, “What color is he?” After Wolf alerted Imus to the fact that Mr. Jones was an African American Imus continues with this, “There you go. Now we know.” How much more blatant can you get? In Imus’s statement released on Tuesday, the former COCAINE ADDICT and ALCOHOLIC said, “What people should be outraged about is that they arrest blacks for no reason, and I mean there’s no reason to arrest this kid six times,” he said. “They shoot blacks for no reason.” Come on Imus, even an intelligent racist like yourself could come up with something better than that. Maybe the after effects of those drugs and liquor are kicking in, along with senility, of course. I’m sure you all remember the “Nappy head hoes” comment, where he offended the women’s basketball team of my Alma Mater, Rutgers University, as they played for the National Championship. In light of your track record Mr. “My friends are black”, there is no doubt in my mind that racism runs through you. Or as us black people say, “You got hate in your blood!!”

Several years ago I was signing on to my Yahoo account, and in their featured news section, there was a video of an artist with talent beyond the scope of any descriptive text. I visited his website and was pleasantly shocked at what he displayed there. His artwork ranges from self portraits, to important figures in our society, to our present commander-in-chief. Sounds simple right? NOT IN ANY SENSE OF THE WORD. What takes his artwork to another level, that NO artist I have never seen has done, is the surfaces he uses for the artwork, the way he transfers the paint to the piece, or what he uses to create certain images. For Example, his latest piece is called “Lance”. It’s titled for the seven time winner of the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong, who, before this achievement, survived Testicular Cancer. Oh yeah, those titles were all won consecutively from 1999-2005. Talk about dominating a sport. Anyway, Phil created a painting of the bust of Mr. Armstrong by laying a canvas on the floor of his studio, attaching buckets of different paint colors to the handle bars of a TRICYCLE,and allowing the paint to run down over the wheel of the tricycle as he rode over the canvas, the tire tracks giving him his desired image. It may sound confusing or impossible, but check it out for yourself. Phil also tackles social issues with his artwork. Another of his pieces is of our President, ole’ Georgy Porgy. The way he executed this one, no pun intended, was taking the names of Coalition Soldiersthat have been KILLED in the Iraq war up until April 30th of 2005, and he wrote them on a canvas to form the smiling leader of our nation, with the very symbol of patriotism in the background. There are plenty more pieces that amazed me, shocked me or that were just unbelievable, contained on his site, and for the majority of them, he’s imbedded videos to watch. Chronicling the process of creating each one, for the non believers of course. Stop by, be inspired and participate in his “Goodbye Art” section. In this section, he involves the viewers of his website in some fashion and creates a work of art from what he gets from us. Once completed, this artwork is destroyed. Either by Phil or Nature. Oh yeah, for anyone who hasn’t been hibernating in recent years, check out the Goodbye Art for May, its all about Sports. One of his pieces is of Roger Clemens, but it is made fromSyringes.AMAZING!!!Check out his many masterpieces and come back to let me know what you think. His website is http://www.philinthecircle.com.

Last Saturday I joined my sister at a Greek picnic, given by my town’s recreation department. This picnic was for Fraternities and Sororities, with local chapters, and their families. My sister and I were assigned the job of painting faces for the kids who desired such entertainment. Coming into this, I had my thoughts and conceptions as to what Fraternities and Sororities were about and I wasn’t at all pumping my fist for them. Throughout life, my only exposure to these groups has been through the media and a whole lot of hearsay, but upon being there amongst the different groups, my mind was forever changed. I saw past the alleged hazing rituals, embarrassment, disrespect and the supposed inferiority that those who had already crossed over inflict on those who sought acceptance. I saw camraderie. Joy permeated the site as we all enjoyed each other. The wide array of colors scattered throughout that area of the park took my eye every which way, watching as the different groups co-mingled, coming together to celebrate “US”. Then, the step show started. The sassy, confident swagger of the AKA‘s was infectious as they held their hands up to their own faces and looked in the mirrors made out of flesh, and the “SKEEEEEEEWEEEEEEE” they proudly sang filled the air as they held their heads high. The DELTA’s threw up their diamonds represeting for their “sorors”. The red that covered some and was scattered on others shined bright as they let the “OOOOOWWWWOOOOOPPPP” out of their mouths. The Q-DOGS stayed true to the old addage and barked loudly as their brothers tore the stage down, wearing their purple and gold with pride. They stomped on the stage and I could feel the rumble under my feet, symbolizing their Strength and Power. All of the traits that these groups portray are all things we, in the black community, need to embody. Strength, Confidence, Pride, Achievement, Education, Unity……… PEACE.

Welcome to my 1st F.O.W (Flick of the week). Today I attended my 5 year-old cousins PRE SCHOOLgradutaion, along with other members of my family. On my way out of the building, I pushed the faux metal door open that stood betweeen me and the outside world and Lo and Behold this was the image that was plopped down in front of me. I had to snap the shot and stay incognito, so I leaned up against the wall, flipped open my cell phone, and captured this disturbing, yet humorous flick. All praises due to the person who thought of putting a camera on a cell phone. After I snapped the picture, I quickly got out of there, just itching and craving the moment that I would be able to post this crap, I mean this Crack. Now, I don’t know how good crack is, but thatCRACK would not have me fiending!!!

What’s up everybody. I’ve decided that I will add different features here as I get more acquainted with this blog thing, so for today, I will be rolling out “FLICK OF THE WEEK” akaF.O.W. As the name implies, it will be a weekly feature and will be ready for viewing every Saturday morning. Mix it with your coffee, or whatever beverage you decide to consume, and get your weekend started off right. Throughout my day, often times I am inspired by, appauled by, and or humored by the plethora of sights that catch my eye. These pictures may be funny, touching, disgusting, etc. but I will explain the situation behind each one of them, then leave the forum open for any comments, rebutals or agreeances. Get Ready because this new feature will be like the New York Lottery, “Hey, you never know.” The first F.O.W is ready for your viewing pleasure. ENJOY!!! or should I say BEWARE.